This Is How You Should Be Freezing Mashed Potatoes

A big serving of mashed potatoes can be one of the most comforting meals out there — even better, perhaps, if you have a juicy steak to pair it with. Should there come a time when you realize you've made too much food for dinner and don't know what to do with your delicious homemade mashed potatoes, do not despair. It's possible to freeze them in a way that will allow you to preserve your meal for future tasty delight, without stressing over longevity. 

There are a few tricks to freezing mashed potatoes that can help you ensure that you've gotten the process right. According to All Recipes, it's essential to make sure that your meal doesn't ignore ingredients like butter and cream in order to get the best results while freezing. For example, if you cook your potatoes with just oil and broth, you'll realize that the dish will lack texture after you take it out of the freezer and reheat it.

As explained by the Daily Meal, it pays to be a little organized when working with your mashed potatoes. This means that you should ensure that your potatoes are smooth when you do start storing them in the freezer. A good idea for meal prepping for the days ahead is to prepare your mashed potatoes as single servings and use an ice cream scoop to arrange and separate them. Freeze them for two hours until they've changed shape before transferring your mashed potatoes to a freezer bag. Cool, right?

If you'd rather just store them for one big meal, you can also just go ahead and follow the same rule. Basically, you can add them onto parchment-lined baking sheets (via The Kitchn) and let them cool for a few hours before transferring the mashed potatoes to a freezer-friendly bag and storing them. You'll be good to go.